Velvet Goldmine

IMDB: Velvet Goldmine

• OVERALL: 88
• VISUAL: 81
  
• STORY: 86
  
• ACTING: 96
  
• BETTER THAN: Labyrinth
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Trainspotting
  
• WAS MISSING: A reference to Teen Bop or a little bit more spelling out of the plot for those not as informed on Bowie going into it, since it nearly plays out like a documentary.
  
• SEE IT FOR: Three of my favorite actors in Bale, McGregor and Rhys Davies in very fine performances of something that may have otherwise been restricted to a niche crowd.

Frazetta: Painting With Fire

IMDB: Frazetta: Painting With Fire

• OVERALL: 92
• VISUAL: 99
  
• STORY: 93
  
• CHARACTERS: 84
  
• BETTER THAN: Crumb
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: The Joy of Painting (TV Series & Collected)
  
• WAS MISSING: Even more time spent on the countless knock off Frazetta artists, including comic book covers, magazines, films and album covers. So many people used his style. I would've loved to see even more of these exposed, either as plagiarism or homages.
  
• SEE IT FOR: Unbelievable mastery of art and the human form. You would never have guessed his lack of training, his "funnies" beginnings or his sincere dedication to family. I also truly enjoyed the before and after shots of works he repainted in hopes of improving them.

Darkon

IMDB: Darkon

• OVERALL: 69
• VISUAL: 73
  
• STORY: 75
  
• REAL LIFE CHARACTERS: 60
  
• BETTER THAN: Lord Protector (The Dark Mist)
• NOT AS GOOD AS: The Visitors (Les Visiteurs)
  
• WAS MISSING: Respect. I couldn't take anything very seriously and it seemed to feed right into every negative stereotype you'd think they would be trying to knock down.
  
• SEE IT FOR: I love medieval themes more than most, and I'm down with costumed role players, fairs and games... but I've never been down with professional LARPer-types who live out the medieval days, on and off the field. Disappointingly, Darkon did not change my mind, but to each their own!
  

The Good Night

IMDB: The Good Night

• OVERALL: 92
• VISUAL: 85
  
• STORY: 97
• ACTING: 95
• BETTER THAN: What Dreams May Come
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Waking Life
  
• WAS MISSING: Pain. I'm sure there was unseen pain.
  
• SEE IT FOR: Insomnia. Lucid dreaming. Depression. There are a few scenes where you may literally laugh out loud. Pegg should be Pigg. Paltrow is so put out. It tackles these issues in a non-threatening way and, "You can't just reciprocate the complaint!"
  

The Grand

The director of Incident at Loch Ness puts together another great mockumentary. He tells a brilliantly weaving tale of poker's oddball characters. Think Best in Show meets the World Poker Tour. They take several stereotypes from the math genius to the loudmouth. I wonder if Ted Forrest and Mike Matasou are getting royalties!

It was great to see lots of poker greats and all the celebrity cameos from the poker world. I would've liked to see them ribbed a bit for coming across in real life as such big wannabes, but it was fun treating the movie like Where's Waldo and trying to spot all the stars in their very small roles at times.



IMDB: The Grand

• OVERALL: 92
• VISUAL: 93
  
• STORY: 92
  
• ACTING: 90
  
• BETTER THAN: Shade
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Maverick
  
• WAS MISSING: For all the celebrity poker players in the movie (playing "real" players), they didn't actually take shots at celebrities who desperately want to be serious poker players! And where is Barry Greenstein when you want him!?
  
• SEE IT FOR: Ray Romano's fantasy football scenes are pure gold.